Treatment with Convalescent Plasma for Influenza A (H5N1) Infection

To the Editor: A previously healthy 31-year-old male van driver presented to a local clinic in Shenzhen, in southern China, on June 7, 2006, with a 4-day history of a high fever (temperature, 39.9°C), chills, and a cough with clear sputum. A chest radiograph obtained on June 9 revealed large opacities in the lower lobe of the left lung. A reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay and an isolate from a tracheal aspirate were positive for influenza A (H5N1) virus. Treatment with 150 mg of oseltamivir twice daily was started at 2 a.m. on June 12 (Figure 1). After 2 days, there was . . .